Page 50 of Risk Assessment
“The private school I went to required us to do community service because it would look good on our resumes. I volunteered at an assisted living home. The people there were from all kinds of backgrounds and places. I got to know a few of them and hear their stories.” She recalled the feelings she got while listening to what they’d faced in their lives. Not everything had been roses and bonbons.
“It sparked something in me. I wanted to see the world, not just the tourist places but the whole world. I loved hearing their stories. Life wasn’t all about being a socialite for them and Ididn’t want it to be that way for me. I wanted to actually work at something I enjoyed not just because it made me money. I mean if being a doctor would have made me happy, I would have done it but talking to people and hearing their stories makes me happy. Writing makes me happy. My goal is to be a journalist. I want to see the world and report back on what’s happening.”
She raised her chin a bit. Dylan was right. Telling her parents her career choice was the toughest conversation, more like screaming match, she’d ever had. “Anyway, I studied journalism in university. My parents hated it, but they eventually grudgingly accepted it as long as I did well. And I did do well. I graduated top of my class in undergrad, and again in graduate school.
“Then I told them I wanted to pursue journalism as a career, and they said I’d be cut off without a penny if I didn’t come to my senses. Being a journalist isn’t exactly a high-paying job, and I was living in New York at the time, so they were still helping me out. That’s how I ended up at the PR firm. I needed a job so I could eat and pay the rent.”
Dylan shook his head. “No offense, but your parents seem pretty intense.”
“None taken, and you’re right. It was always their way or the highway. That was two years ago. I still go home for the odd family event, you know, like weddings and funerals. Things lately have been getting a bit better with them. The daughter of one of their friends died of a drug overdose last year. She was an influencer and into the whole scene. I think that shook them up. The reality of that lifestyle kind of settled in. They’ve started softening towards my career choice. Hopefully they’ll stay that way when I finally get a journalism job but we’ll see.”
Dylan asked, “So writing about socialites and their rich and fabulous lifestyle isn’t your dream job?” He grinned, as if he already knew the answer.
“Uh…no? I still get to write, although not what I thought I would be writing, and I also get to eat. It’s a compromise for now until I can make the switch to being a full-time investigative journalist. I’ve been submitting articles on the side to online sites for a while now and a lot of the articles have been published. I’m building a by-line, which is as important as building a following. So, hopefully one day soon, I can quit public relations and make the permanent career switch to full-time journalist. Someday I want to write hard-hitting stories. Ones that will expose a bad guy or change the world. I know it sounds silly but that’s my goal. I just have to find the story first.”
“I don’t think it’s silly at all. Cheers to your dream.” Dylan raised his beer and touched it to hers.
She smiled and took a sip. Maybe life wasn’t so bad after all.
Dylan shot her a warm glance. “I’m sure you’ll make it happen if it’s what you want. You don’t strike me as the type of person to let anything stop you from reaching your goals.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Raleigh was a dream come true. Not only was she beautiful, but she was smart and tough, too. He admired her more and more. Okay, he’d only known her a short time, but she impressed the hell out of him. What he knew about her, he liked. A lot. He was going to enjoy getting to know more. Much more.
After stuffing themselves silly, Raleigh insisted they take a walk. She couldn’t sit in the truck again until she digested some of the food they’d eaten. Dylan went along happily, and they walked along the boardwalk in downtown Brooklyn. Other couples were strolling along the wooden walkway as well. Families with kids and dogs in tow. Friends sipping coffee and chatting. It was a typical night in New York. “The view of Manhattan from here is almost as good as the view going over the fifty-ninth street bridge,” Dylan said.
“Agreed. I love that view. It makes New York seem glamorous somehow. Like it lives up to its reputation.”
Dylan chuckled. “Until you get close enough to see the reality.”
“Exactly.” She sighed. “New York is not bad it’s just a lot sometimes.”
“You are not wrong.”
It was good to see Raleigh relax. Her eyes twinkled when she laughed, and her cheeks had color in them again, the good kind, the kind that came from joy rather than anger. He’d seen her be everything from terrified to angry to sad this weekend. She looked beautiful no matter what, but nothing could hold a candle to the sight of Raleigh laughing. Her hair had natural streaks of blond and red in it, which had shimmered in the candlelight of the restaurant.
He was drawn to her in a way he’d never been drawn to anyone before, not even Jenn.
“Penny for your thoughts?” she asked as she grabbed his arm. They’d walked down the pier and stopped to lean on the railing overlooking the river.
“I was thinking about Jenn.” He saw immediately that it had been the wrong thing to say.
Raleigh let go of his arm and turned to face the water. “I see. It must be hard for you to know she’s getting married to someone else.”
He cursed under his breath as he gently turned Raleigh back to face him. “It’s not what you think. I realized something, thanks to you.”
She crinkled her brow. “Me?”
“When I picked you up the other day, thinking of Jenn was still painful. I think I tied the incident at work in with her, so I confused the pain of that with losing Jenn. Like I missed her more than I really did. Does that make sense? Somehow, this weekend has turned it around for me. Seeing everyone again, seeing Jenn…made things clearer.”
He brushed some loose hairs from across Raleigh’s face. “And I was right. Nothingwillbe the same again. Now, everything can be better. I don’t think I ever really loved Jenn. She needs to be the center of someone’s world, and I could nevergive her that. I think dating me was an act of rebellion against her family at first, and then I don’t know, I think she felt safe when she was with me. Like she could let her guard down a bit and just be herself. When I broke it off with her, it shook her up. She is high maintenance and a needy person, and I don’t want that in my life. I’m glad she’s marrying Andrew. I don’t think we would’ve made it. We weren’t a good fit.”
Not like we are.Being with Raleigh just felt right in a way that his relationship with Jenn never had. He silently thanked his cousin Lauren one more time for bringing Raleigh into his life.
“Well, I’m glad something positive came out of this weekend for you,” Raleigh said as she brushed more hair out of her face. She lifted onto her toes and kissed him.
The kiss was unexpected but most welcomed. Her lips were soft, and they tasted like the chocolate ice cream she’d had for dessert. He pulled her closer as he slanted his mouth over hers and deepened the kiss. He ran his hands down her back. They stayed like that, wrapped up in each other for a long time, tongues dancing, bodies wound together.
